CBC News Barbados

TAIPEI, Taiwan, CMC – Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has confirmed that a 44-year-old St. Lucian educator, who was here for a short-term Mandarin training programme, had been found dead on the streets of the capital but that foul play has been ruled out. MOFA in a statement said that it had expressed its condolences to the St. Lucia government after the official, identified by the Embassy of St. Lucia in Taiwan, as Leonard Robinson, was found dead on December 12. The MOFA’s statement followed local media reports that St. Lucia’s Ambassador to Taiwan, Robert Kennedy Lewis, was spotted at the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. The Chinese-language EBC cable news channel quoted unnamed sources as saying the envoy was there to claim the autopsy certificate issued by the prosecutor’s office. Robinson’s body was found lying on the ground on section 1 of downtown Taipei’s Dunhua South Road. He was pronounced dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital. The state-owned Central News Agency (CNA), quoting sources, said prosecutors found no signs of foul play after an autopsy and determined that Robinson died from an illness. According to separate posts made by the St. Lucia Embassy here, and Taiwan’s embassy in St. Lucia, Robinson was a Modern Language Curriculum Officer in the St. Lucian Ministry of Education and had been attending a three-month Mandarin Training Programme in Taiwan. The St. Lucia  Embassy said he was “instrumental” in the introduction and implementation of Mandarin teaching at several secondary schools in the Caribbean country. “His passion for teaching and foreign languages is seen throughout the course of his career as an educator, where he positively influenced his students into pursuing language studies, particularly in French and Spanish.” Taiwan’s embassy in its Facebook post called Robinson “a valued friend” and that his “collaborative spirit and commitment to fostering cultural exchange will be remembered as part of his enduring legacy.” “We extend heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues, and friends. May his contributions inspire future generations, and may his soul rest in eternal peace,” it said in the post. In a social media post, St. Lucia’s Education Minister Edward also expressed the sadness of Prime Minister Philip J Pierre, Cabinet members and the staff of the Ministry of Education at Robinson’s passing in Taipei.

By Lex Harvey, Yoonjung Seo and Gawon Bae, CNN Seoul (CNN) — South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo on Friday, less than two weeks after parliament stripped President Yoon Suk Yeol of his powers over his short-lived martial law order that plunged the country into political disarray. A total of 192 lawmakers voted to impeach Han, more than the 151 votes needed in the 300-member legislature. Chaotic scenes unfolded in parliament during the vote, as lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party pumped their fists and chanted “Abuse of power” after National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik declared only a simple majority would be needed to approve the impeachment motion against Han. A simple majority is the typical threshold needed to oust a sitting prime minister, while a two-thirds majority is needed to impeach a president. Han – who assumed the role after parliament voted to impeach Yoon – said in a statement he respected the decision and “will suspend my duties under relevant laws to avoid further confusion and uncertainty.” Following parliament’s vote to impeach Han, the finance minister and deputy prime minister, Choi Sang-mok, is now acting president. South Korea’s main opposition Democratic party filed the impeachment motion on Thursday after Han refused to fill three vacant seats in the Constitutional Court, which is set to adjudicate Yoon’s impeachment trial. Han on Friday defended his choice not to appoint new justices, urging the ruling and opposition parties to first reach an agreement before appointments can be made. “I desperately feel how surprised and disappointed the people have been through this emergency martial law,” Han said, adding that “the process is as important as filling the constitutional judge positions.” Han’s impeachment comes as the country has been embroiled in weeks of political turmoil and uncertainty following Yoon’s martial law decree on December 3, which lasted only six hours and sparked mass protests. Lawmakers, including at least a dozen ruling party members, voted to impeach Yoon two weeks ago after he repeatedly refused to step down. The Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether to uphold or reject the impeachment vote. It has vowed to take the case as a “top priority,” among other impeachment cases the opposition has pushed for against members of Yoon’s administration, including the justice minister, prosecutors and other senior officials. The nine-member court, however, currently only has six justices, due to a delay in filling vacancies left by retired justices, further complicating matters. Under South Korean law, at least six out of nine justices must approve an impeachment for it to be upheld. The court has not yet decided whether the six sitting justices alone can rule on Yoon’s fate. But if they are able to, all six would have to vote in support of the impeachment to formally remove Yoon. “The acting president has transformed into an ‘acting insurrection leader,’” South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said in a press conference Friday, claiming the ruling party had “abandoned its duty to uphold the Constitution,” and acts as Yoon’s “loyal guard.” Han’s ruling party filed a dispute with the Constitutional Court over Friday’s vote, with floor leader Kweon Seong-dong declaring the result “null and void.” The vote to impeach Han comes the same day as the Constitutional Court holds its first public hearing on Yoon’s impeachment trial, starting a process to decide if he will be removed from office permanently. Yoon is not required to attend the meeting. If the Constitutional Court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, he will become the shortest-serving president in South Korea’s democratic history. The country must then hold new presidential elections within 60 days. Meanwhile, the former prosecutor has been banned from leaving the country and is facing a string of investigations, including potential charges of leading an insurrection – a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

By Gawon Bae, Victoria Butenko and Edward Szekeres, CNN (CNN) — South Korea’s spy agency said Friday that a wounded North Korean soldier who was captured while fighting for Russia against Ukrainian forces has since died from his injuries, the Yonhap news agency reported. The soldier was believed to be the first North Korean taken as a prisoner of war by Ukraine. CNN has reached out to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and Ukrainian authorities for comment. North Korean troops are believed to have suffered heavy losses while fighting for Moscow in Russia’s western Kursk region, according to US and Ukrainian officials. Ukraine launched its lightning incursion into Kursk in August, forcing Russia to divert troops to counter the threat. Seoul’s spy agency said Friday it received information on the capture “through real-time intelligence sharing with allies,” but did not specify any country by name. Neither Moscow or Pyongyang have officially acknowledged the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. US, Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence estimates however, put the number of North Korean soldiers in Russia at between 11,000 to 12,000, some of whom have already engaged in combat operations alongside tens of thousands of Russian forces to assist in recovering parts of Kursk. Ukraine estimates more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Kursk, while a senior US official said North Korea has seen “several hundred” casualties – both killed and wounded – in the region since October. A South Korean lawmaker said about 100 North Korean soldiers are believed to have been killed and almost 1,000 injured since being deployed to Kursk, citing the country’s intelligence agency. Officials in Kyiv have accused Russia of trying to cover up the involvement of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military said documents seized from three North Korean soldiers killed in Kursk were fake military identification documents with Russian names and birthplaces. Zelensky has said Russia is attempting to conceal the losses of North Korean troops on the battlefield, resorting to extreme tactics to disguise the identity of North Korean soldiers killed in combat. “Russians are trying… to literally burn the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in battle,” Zelensky said in a statement on X on December 17, alongside a video purportedly showing Russian soldiers setting fire to the bodies of North Korean soldiers.“There are risks of North Korea sending additional troops and military equipment to the Russian army,” Zelensky said after receiving a report from Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which he wrote the two countries will continue to implement the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty they signed in June, which includes a mutual defense pact, Russian and North Korean state media reported. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.